"John Banks is one of the UK's most prolific audiobook narrators, working for the likes of Big Finish, Audible, Random House and Games Workshop.

He is a true multi-voice, creating everything from monsters to marauding aliens.

He is also an accomplished stage and TV actor."

audible.co.uk 2018

Soul Wars

Hello...

...I'm John Banks - welcome to my website. The majority of my working life has been spent in the theatre with companies including York Theatre Royal, Cheltenham Everyman, Sheffield Crucible, Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Royal Exchange and the National Theatre in London.

Television work includes Emmerdale, Coronation Street, and 'Allo, Allo!'. I have also worked on a number of radio drama and comedy productions with the BBC.Since March 2009, I have enjoyed playing a huge variety of characters in more than 250* audio-drama stories with Big Finish Productions, together with The Black Library/Games Workshop, details of which can be found in the postings below.

There are also details listed here of the 165* audio books I've recorded since March 2013, including the unabridged New Revised Standard Version of The Bible, for companies including audible.co.uk, Hachette, HarperCollins, RNIB, W.F. Howes, Little Brown Group, Penguin Random House, Games Workshop, Orion, Fantom Films & Ladbroke Audio.

(*figures at April 2019)

I hope you find something of interest here and come back soon for further updates.

For all posts, reviews and audio samples, please scroll down...

Blood of The Old World

Games Workshop

The Moggotkin of Nurgle

Released June 2019...

Released January 2019...

Released January 2019...

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Saturday, 20 May 2017

Good afternoon! You know, you have to keep an eye on those good folks at The Black Library; blink for an instant and they've gone and released something new!

Today's release is an audio drama anthology of stories from The Horus Heresy and here are some details:

Echoes of Revelation

A Horus Heresy audio anthology

From
internecine war between the Emperor's Children to what might be a final
battle for Marcus Valerius and his Therion Cohort, and further, into
the depths of space and time where Oll Persson seeks his destiny, this
trio of audio dramas explores new avenues of the Horus Heresy.

For more than two hundred years, the armies of the Emperor of Mankind
fought to reconquer the galaxy – led by the superhuman primarchs, the
Space Marine Legions brought countless worlds back under the rule of
ancient Terra.

Now Horus, once honoured Warmaster and favoured son of
the Emperor, has been corrupted by the whispered promises of Chaos. At
his command the Imperium is torn apart by a terrible and bloody civil
war, the likes of which the galaxy has never seen...

There are some who
whisper that Horus’ rebellion was not of his own devising, but
orchestrated by more sinister powers. While such thoughts are tantamount
to heresy, they pale next to the notion that many noble heroes and
champions of Terra are in some way blessed by a higher power still.

Yet
the war still rages across the Imperium, and all eyes now fall towards
the Throneworld itself... This anthology CD features three short audio
dramas following the half-understood destinies of some of the most
important individuals in the galaxy.

"So", I hear you asking, "what have you been up to lately?" Well, that's kind of you to ask. The last few weeks have involved quite a bit of preparation for a flurry of recording and studio activity, which I'm now in the middle of. On Monday, I should finish recording a 'cook book' for RNIB, which will complete a busy 'three audio books recorded in six days' phase. Also on Monday and also for RNIB, I'll be recording a current affairs magazine and a radio voice over. Speaking of voice overs; I've just recorded a trailer for... oops, sorry, can't talk about that just yet!

I must now interrupt myself to say that my second ever audio drama for Big Finish has just started on BBC Radio 4 Extra - yes, it's on the radio now; Episode 1 with Episode 2 at the same time next week, 6pm!

Just in case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here are some details...

LEVIATHAN

"No one lives to old age in the village. When their Time is come, they
are taken and never seen again. That is The Way. And, should anyone try
to break with the established order of things, then the fury of Herne
the Hunter is unleashed...

When the TARDIS materializes near a castle in this mediaeval society,
the Doctor and Peri befriend Gurth, a terrified youth who is attempting
to flee his fate. And Herne is closing in...

Why does the local baron impose the culling? What is the secret of
Zeron? And who are the Sentinels of the New Dawn? The answers lie within
a cave... "

As you can see, I'm credited with playing 'Herne the Hunter', the creature with antlers on the cover artwork. Having just had a quick look at the script, I'm reminded that I also played 'Osbert, Chandris and The Baron'. Beth Chalmers also played a handful of characters and it occurred to me at the time, that if I was in any way serious about audio drama, I should closely observe everything Beth did and attempt to emulate her astonishing versatility; she was and is amazing.

Howard, Del, Nicola, Colin, Jamie, me & Beth - 28/29 April 2009

As I mentioned above, this was my second story for Big Finish and my first time working with Ken Bentley; the next recording Ken and I do ( coming soon ), will be our 99th together, from a total of nearly 180 further stories I've done with BF since 2009.

It was a great experience; we had a lot of fun with all our voices and it was lovely to work with Colin Baker again ( having recorded my first story, 'Paper Cuts', with him just before Leviathan ) and Nicola Bryant of course, who originally recommended me to Nick Briggs and to whom I owe a great deal - thanks Nicola!

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Released by audible.co.uk yesterday, this fascinating book was a delight to read and quite a challenge to record - those Russian names don't always trip easily off an English speaking tongue!

It's a fabulous book and here are some details:

October: The Story of the Russian Revolution

"The renowned fantasy and science fiction writer China
Mieville has long been inspired by the ideals of the Russian Revolution,
and here, on the centenary of the revolution, he provides his own
distinctive take on its history.

In February 1917, in the midst
of bloody war, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy: nine months
later it became the first socialist state in world history. How did this
unimaginable transformation take place? How was a ravaged and backward
country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but
two revolutions?

This is the story of the extraordinary months
between those upheavals, in February and October, of the forces and
individuals who made 1917 so epochal a year, of their intrigues,
negotiations, conflicts and catastrophes. From familiar names like Lenin
and Trotsky to their opponents Kornilov and Kerensky; from the
byzantine squabbles of urban activists to the remotest villages of a
sprawling empire; from the revolutionary railroad Sublime to the ciphers
and static of coup by telegram; from grand sweep to forgotten detail.

Historians
have debated the revolution for 100 years, its portents and
possibilities: the mass of
literature can be daunting. But here is a
book for those new to the events, told not only in their historical
import but in all their passion and drama and strangeness. Because as
well as a political event of profound and ongoing consequence, Mieville
reveals the Russian Revolution as a breathtaking story."

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

...a title that doesn't in fact, refer to an elaborate seat, classed as 'hand baggage' by an airline!

Instead, The Carrion Throne is an audio book released from The Black Library, which I have narrated and which is currently available in a variety of listening and reading formats. I must say how much I enjoyed recording this adventure; not only does it have its fair share of action, but also has the intriguing feel of a detective story, populated by some fascinating and very well developed characters. For me, the fact that the narrative takes place on Terra provides the story with even more interest, as I've never previously encountered such a detailed description of the 'home-world'.

Here are some details:

Vaults of Terra: The Carrion Throne

Inquisitor Crowl, who serves on Holy Terra itself, follows the trail of a
conspiracy that leads him to the corridors of the Imperial Palace
itself…

In the hellish sprawl of Imperial Terra, Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor
Erasmus Crowl serves as a stalwart and vigilant protector, for even the
Throneworld is not immune to the predations of its enemies.

In the
course of his Emperor-sworn duty, Crowl becomes embroiled in a dark
conspiracy, one that leads all the way to the halls of the Imperial
Palace. As he plunges deeper into the shadowy underbelly of the many
palace districts, his investigation attracts the attention of hidden
forces, and soon he and his acolyte Spinoza are being hunted – by
heretics, xenos, servants of the Dark Powers, or perhaps even rival
elements of the Inquisition itself.

Soon they discover a terrible truth,
one that if allowed to get out could undermine the very fabric of the
Imperium itself.

Written by Chris Wraight Produced by Matt Renshaw Narrated by John Banks

Ultramarines

Psychic Awakening

Warcry: Death or Glory

Warhammer 40,000

Flight. Redefined.

Reviews & comments:

The Malazan Empire

Over the course of this 8 book series, the amazing John Banks has had to create and voice 648 distinct characters!

Neil Gardner - producer

The Door In The Wall & War of The Worlds

Not often I buy another version of an audiobook I own, but after hearing John Banks' narration of The Door in the Wall by Ladbroke Audio, I had to buy their version of The War of the Worlds. Banks has a great reading voice.

Andy Frankham-Allen - writer

The Books of Babel: Senlin Ascends, Arm of The Sphinx & The Hod King

Mr. Banks does superb work, and I recommend the audiobooks wholeheartedly!

Josiah Bancroft - writer

Mervyn Stone: The Axeman Cometh

John Banks is a voice genius...

Nev Fountain - writer

Mervyn Stone... played by the note-perfect John Banks.

Matt Hills - Reviews in Time and Space

Dr. Who: The Sleeping City

I also must draw attention to John Banks who is an exceptional voice artist and in this one story performs more characters that I can count. ... it is listening to episodes like this one that really do let his talents shine through.

Tony Jones - Red Rocket Rising

Highlander:

...playing several parts, was the brilliant Big Finish regular John Banks - it was as if there were about 40 different actors in the other booth.

James Moran - writer

I went for the best of the best and brought in voice artiste extraordinaire John Banks.

Paul Spragg - producerVienna:

...also features the mind - bogglingly versatile and reliable John Banks

Jonathan Morris - writer

Dead Funny:

The acting is first rate… wonderfully played by John Banks as Richard – his impersonation of Eric Morecambe is worth the admission money alone.

Beverly Greenberg: Bolton Evening NewsMr. Happiness:

This early and unfamiliar play by David Mamet is a character study of a 1930s radio counsellor, dispensing suave advice to his devoted listeners. John Banks brings out the wry comedy of this – comedy quite unappreciated by the character – with a clever range of gesture and vocal tone.

Jeremy Kingston: The Times

All My Sons:

This is a beautifully crafted piece ...and it affords a wonderful opportunity for John Readman* to do his All-American Boy act as Chris Keller. This most polished and well observed performance as the blighted son of a blighted father must rank as one of his finest accomplishments yet. ( * see Profile)The Stage

The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes

Kudos should also go to John Banks.Lestrade can be a thankless part, but Banks rose to the challenge, playing a pivotal role in this decades long arc.

Raissa Devereux - SciFiPulseThe Judgement of Sherlock HolmesJohn Banks is multi-tasking, both as the superb Lestrade and also the villainous and no doubt moustache twirling Sebastian Moran. They sound completely different and I bow to his talent.Sue Davies - SFcrowsnest

Further reviews and comments are included with specific postings throughout the site.